Crystal River current., 1887-08-06
THE Flying SCUD.

To many persons there are few SEN
sations more pleasant than that ofrap-
id motion. AS Arthur Granard belong
ed emphatically to that class OF
travellers, he invariably made point
OF using the celebrated express train
popularity known as the Flying Scud
whenever business or pleasure caused
him to journey away from the quiet
little town OF Blandcombe in which he
lived.
In this preference he was not alone,
or the Flying Scud was perhaps more
used by first-class passengers-'ex-
press" fares notwithstanding-than
any other train on that line; in fact,
there were not few residents in every
county through which she ran who
would almost as soon have thought
OF posting to London by road
as OF travelling in any other train
than the Scud. There was
no other train like it, either on that
line or any other-at least such was
the popular belief. Naturally the Of
ficials were very prou! OF tins, their
premier train, and made no small fuss
over it s.hd all connected with it. In
iced, it seemed to be religiously telt
by every one, high and low, that, al
though the carriages might be exactly
similar to those OF every other express,
and the engine in no respect different,
yet for the fastest train the world
could show, it was only proper to dis
play more zeal than usual in perform
ing even the commonest OF their du-
ties.
On one hot day in July-after join
ing the .Scud at Winfield, where she
had arrived some twenty minutes late
Arthur Granard was sitting laziy
back in u fiist-class compartment,
dreamily comparing his fellow passen-
gers with others OF pleasant memory,
not much to the advantage of those
present, for on this occasion the 9TH
er occupants OF the carriage seemed to
him oppressively dull and common
place.
A young man of detected appear
ance and fast asleep was huddled up
i'll the cornor on the opposite seat,
his back to the engine; a schoolboy
sat on Granard's right greedily de-
vourlng "Midshipman Easy" and q
snoring Frenchman was slumbering
Justify on his lett; while the remain
ing places on the opposite seat were
occupied by a newly married couple,
the most hopeless of companions.
At least Grapard concluded that such
were their condition, for they both
looked tagged and bored, and seldom
exchanged remarks, yet both seemed
ready to attend lovingly to anything
theother might say; but the impetu-
GUS light of wooing and being wooed
was no longer in their eyes, SO what
could they be but couple who had
~just passed through the perlous days
Of interdependendence peculiar to
honeymoon?
The man was a tanie.looking crea-
ture, without a single strong feature
in his face. unless a thin sprinkling of
light whiskers-of tie hue vulgarly
dubbed "ginger" be SO de-
scribed.
The wife was better. She was a
pretty little woman OF q plump home
y ~ Pc uICSoCu III CIOIn6S Which,
seemed a little too smart, though her
general appearance was not altogether
unpleasing.
But conversation was clearly out of
the question with any OF them, and
Granard soon laid back in his seat
with yawn, and presently gave HIM
self mp to enjoying TO the full what
seemed to him the best pace he had
ever known the train travel al. He
was just about to set himself to ascer-
tain the speed by counting the quarter.
mile post which the glare OF the mid.
day sun was suddenly exchanged for
darkness as the flying Scud dashed in
to Dorton tunnel.
"Dorton already! didn't think
we'd got SO far" he said to himself
81 haven't noticed the down fast pass
us yet. She must be pretty late,
too"
1t was usual for the Scud to pass an
express as speedy as herself before
reaching Dorton. and Granard never
failed to notice with interest the rapid
swishing sound produced as they flash
ed past each other.
When the daylight burst in on him
again, as the train rushed madly out
into open ground, he gathered up his
newspaper, and was settling down to
its contents, when suddenly a violent
shock, a crashing. grinding, shiverine
shock, sharply reused him from list.
lessness to painful intentness. The
sudden conclusion and the continued
violent motion set him literally dane.
ing on his seat.
He knew we'll enough what the cause
~ss' He was railway sasiusss ~